GRAND FORKS, N.D.(UND Athletics) – Fourth-ranked North Dakota wasted no time on Friday night, striking for a tetrad of goals in the opening 20 minutes, enroute to a 6-2 victory over Minnesota State in front of a sellout crowd at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
Sophomore forward Jackson Blake potted two goals and added an assist while fellow sophomore forward Owen McLaughlin (1G, 2A) and fifth year defenseman Garrett Pyke (3A) also notched a trio of points to help UND (4-1-0) score the team’s most goals against the Mavericks (2-3-0) since an 8-4 win on Feb. 9, 2007.
Ludvig Persson finished with 28 saves on 30 shots to record his second straight win and register his fourth start of the season with two-or-fewer goals allowed. The senior was busy though the opening 40 minutes, stopping 26-of-28 before seeing only two shots in the final frame.
NoDak got the scoring started early, as Logan Britt struck for the first time in the green and white just 2:54 into the opening period when his shot from the point found the top corner to give the hosts the 1-0 advantage. The goal also marks the fourth time in the first five games of the season that UND has scored first, improving to 4-0-0.
Play was more back-and-forth as the period passed its midway point, but the Fighting Hawks exploded for three goals over a 3:40 span to take full control of the game. Jayden Perron recorded his third goal of the season after dancing around his defender and goaltender Alex Tracy to increase the advantage to 2-0 before McLaughlin sniped home his first of the year on the power play just 35 seconds later to make it 3-0 and chase Tracy from the game.
Blake put the finishing touches on an offensive onslaught in the opening 20 minutes with the second power play goal of the stanza for UND, wiring home a shot just under the crossbar to make it 4-0 heading into the intermission.
Hunter Johannes fired home his fourth of the season off the rush to push the lead to 5-0 at the 9:55 mark of the second, but Minnesota State started to gain momentum as the frame wore on. The Mavericks finished with a 16-8 shot advantage and chipped the deficit down to 5-2 on a pair of goals from Sam Morton and Luc Wilson heading into the final period.
UND put the clamps down defensively over the last 20 minutes, holding the visitors to just two shots on goal and adding a sixth goal on another snipe from Blake to close out the 6-2 victory.
North Dakota aims for a weekend sweep on Saturday night at 6:07 p.m. from the Ralph. Fans can catch the action on Midco Sports or listen on the Home of Economy Radio Network.
Postgame Notes
- UND improves to 40-19-8 all-time against Minnesota State and 25-7-3 in Grand Forks
- The six goals by NoDak are the most for the team against MSU since scoring eight on Feb. 9, 2007
- The victory is also only the second for UND over the last six contests against the Mavs
- Blake recorded his 15th multi-point game and third three-point contest of his career
- Pyke’s trio of assists match his career high, coming twice previously
- McLaughlin tallied a career-high three points and his third multi-point game of his career
- Dane Montgomery played in his first game since Mar. 12, 2022 against Colorado College
- UND finished with 20 blocked shots, the most in a game this season
- Jake Livanavage blocked a career-high six shots to lead everyone
- NoDak has scored first in four of the five games this season, improving to 4-0-0 when doing so
- UND notched a pair of power play goals for the first time this year
- The Hawks are 4-0-0 this season when leading after two and 87-6-3 since 2018-19
- Defensemen Keaton Pehrson and Bennett Zmolek did not play due to injury
- UND improves to 55-16-3 at home since 2019-20 and 4-1-0 this season
- NoDak has killed 12 straight penalties and is 14-for-16 this year
- UND finished with a 40-32 faceoff advantage, with Cameron Berg going 16-5
- The Hawks went 2-for-4 with the power play while Minnesota State was 0-for-3
How It Happened
First Period
02:54 | UND – Logan Britt scores his first in a UND uniform with a shot from the point through traffic
11:23 | UND – Jayden Perron dances around the goaltender to increase the lead to 2-0
11:58 | UND – Owen McLaughlin makes it 3-0 just seconds later with a power play blast
15:03 | UND – Jackson Blake gets his first on the power play with a snipe to cap a four-goal first
Second Period
09:55 | UND – Hunter Johannes fires one home off the rush to increase the advantage to 5-0
14:07 | MSU – Sam Morton wires a shot past the goaltender to get the Mavericks on the board
18:32 | MSU – Luc Wilson cuts the deficit to 5-2 on his own rebound
Third Period
11:01 | UND – Blake scores his second of the game off a faceoff win from McLaughlin
Game Recap: Men’s Hockey | 10/27/2023 11:17:00 PM | Alec Stocker Johnson, FightingHawks.com